angela merkel has lost a close political ally. on thursday, the president formally accepted the resignation of the education minister. she is so respected by many of her colleagues. >> through her dedication, science and research in germany have been strengthened. she was consistently an informed and steadfast advocate of the sciences. >> back in 2009, angela merkel began her second term as chancellor. in the three years since, she has had to reshuffle his cabinet five times. the defense minister stepped down after an early plagiarism scandal cost him his doctorate. then a resignation after information surfaced he had tried to downplay civilian deaths in afghanistan. and merkel forced the resignation of the environment minister after he led conservatives to a major defeat. the new education minister has now been sworn in, and merkel is easy to put the latest scandal behind her. >> all right, well, time to leave the halls of government behind us and had across town to the berlin film festival. there are just three more days to go u